Found
by princessjoey630
Summary: Ziva goes missing one morning, and Tony is determined to find her. Tiva. Oneshot. Rated T for safety.


A/N I wrote this _aaaaagggeeessss_ ago. I just never posted it. Hope you guys like it!

* * *

Found

It happened so fast. She was just walking from her apartment to her car, when suddenly somebody grabbed her from behind.

Before she could fight back, she was hit over the head with something, falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Where's David?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the squadroom that morning.

"Not here," McGee replied.

"I can see that, McGee. Where is she?"

"Officer David is…I don't know, Boss," Tony said, looking over at Ziva's desk yet again. She was never this late, barring the time she was framed by the Iranians.

_Where the hell is she?_ Tony thought furiously.

* * *

This was one of the few times Ziva had been unable to fight back. Now, she was at the completely mercy of her captor.

Her hands were bound behind her, and she was lying on the floor of what looked like a basement. Her captor had taken her knife and gun; strangely, he had known where they were located.

_He knows me_, she thought.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and he came in again, this time, without the mask.

"_Bassam?_" Ziva said incredulously. Surely it couldn't be him. Her old partner? Her _brother's_ partner?

He smirked. "Three years on, and you still remember me. I thought you would have discarded the memories of your brother. The brother…that you killed."

Ziva cringed._ He knows._

* * *

"She's not answering her cell or home phone," Tony said, putting his phone back down as McGee walked back into the squadroom. "Did you find anything?"

McGee had gone to Ziva's apartment. By now, she was more than six hours late. "She's not there," he said. "But I found something."

"What?"

McGee showed Tony what he was holding.

Ziva's Star of David necklace.

"Someone's got her," Tony said instantly. "Someone grabbed her."

"How do you know?"

"Because under what circumstances, other than an undercover mission, would she have taken it off?" Tony said angrily, taking the necklace from him.

* * *

"You killed your own _brother_," Bassam sneered at her. "Against all rules and regul-"

"Some things come above all of that," Ziva spat back.

"Like what?"

"Trust," Ziva said simply. "Ari had become rogue. I could not allow him to get any more out of control."

"So you killed him?"

"I believe you established that."

Bassam moved forward and kicked her. Ziva flinched instinctively, which aggravated him more. He beat her again, increasing the speed and strength of his blows.

* * *

"Check her phone again," Tony said impatiently.

"Tony, she's not answering because it's turned off," McGee said. He sounded calm, but he was beginning to lose it as well.

"Got a suspect," Gibbs said, walking in holding a file. "Bassam Sari, Mossad Officer, seen entering the United States yesterday."

"And that makes him a suspect?"

Gibbs put the file down. "He was a part of Ari Haswari's team, and went missing after Ari died."

"And?"

"And he's on suspension from Mossad for accessing files on another Officer without authorisation."

"Ziva's?"

"Yes."

Tony began typing on his computer, desperate to find a location.

* * *

Ziva flinched again as Bassam's fist made contact with another of her ribs. She was close to losing consciousness again, she knew that much, and she hoped her team would be there soon.

* * *

"House in Georgetown," Tony said eventually. "Bassam lived in it for a while. It's the only possible place that makes any sense."

"Gear up!" Gibbs announced, mostly out of habit, because both Tony and McGee were ready to go.

They arrived at the house in less than twenty minutes, but no-one even questioned Gibbs' speed or driving style.

"Someone's around the back," McGee said suddenly as they got out of the car. "Heading out the door."

"You and me, let's go," Gibbs said, prodding McGee's arm. "Tony, clear the inside."

Just as Tony was about to move, gunshots rang out and bullets flew over their heads. The three of them drew their weapons which ducking.

"It's Bassam!" Gibbs called out as he fired towards the Mossad Officer.

Bassam yelled something at them in Hebrew before shooting again. Tony dodged the bullet awkwardly, falling sideways and skidding along the pavement. Looking down, he saw his ankle was bleeding from a large graze. "Boss!"

"Got him!" Gibbs yelled back, still in action mode. "You find Ziva!"

* * *

As fast as he could, Tony scrambled up and ran inside, stumbling slightly as he reached the door. Swearing loudly, he pushed it open and entered. _Please let her be okay,_ he thought desperately. _Please let her be alive._

Nothing could prepare Tony for what he found.

Ziva, lying broken on the ground, curled into a half-moon shape, her hands bound and resting in front of her face. Her hair was matted and splayed around her. Blood covered her skin and clothes, and angry bruises had begun to form on her arms.

Without missing a beat, Tony rushed forwards, ignoring the now throbbing pain in his ankle. He knelt down beside his partner, turning her over so he could see her face. Multiple scrapes were present, and one of her eyes was encircled with purple.

He pressed his fingers to her throat, feeling for a pulse. Just as he found it, Ziva began to regain consciousness. "Away," she mumbled, moving gingerly as if defending herself.

She thought he was her attacker. "Ziva, it's Tony. You're okay, I'm going to get you out of here," he said, cutting the strap around her wrists and putting his hands over hers.

"Tony…" she said dazedly. Without pausing to think about it, Tony scooped her up and stood up in one swift movement. If it hurt her, she didn't say anything, but he noticed how she clutched the back of his shirt, crushing the handful of fabric she managed to grab.

Tony never thought he'd see Ziva so vulnerable, holding to him as if scared that he'd leave her.

Then something else surprised him – the wet feeling on his shirt wasn't from her blood.

It was from her tears.

"You're alright," he said, holding her tighter. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Later they were at the hospital. Abby had gone in to sit with Ziva while the others had finished up the paperwork. Tony had grudgingly agreed to go back to headquarters, but was desperate to return to his partner.

"She's been asleep since you left," Abby said when he came back. She'd met him in the hallway. "And the doctors don't want her woken. Sleeping is good right now."

"Okay."

"So what exactly happened at the house?" Abby asked.

"We got there just as Bassam was leaving. He probably thought he'd finished the job-"

"He nearly did."

"-and we got him. Well, Gibbs got him. I went in and found Ziva."

Abby hugged him. "I'll be out here if you need me."

"Thanks Abs," Tony replied as he walked into Ziva's room.

Now she was clean, rid of all the dirt and muck that had been on her. There were a few stiches on her forehead, and a bandage was wrapped around her wrist. But overall, she looked a lot better than she had.

Tony enjoyed watching her sleep. There was something peaceful about it, knowing that no matter what anyone did during the day, they all slept the same way. Ziva had been through hell and here she was, looking like an innocent child. Her nostrils flared every time she breathed, and every now and then her forehead would crease, probably corresponding with what she was dreaming about. Her hair, now clean, was fanned out around her.

Tony was just reaching out to take her hand when she grabbed him, violence in her eyes. After realising it was him, her expression softened and she released him. "Tony," she said tiredly.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he said. "I can go so you can rest," he added, not mentioning that if he did leave he'd been back within seconds.

"It is okay," she replied. "I have had enough sleep for a while."

"Fair enough."

Ziva read his expression in seconds. "Tony-"

"I should have been there," he said. "This shouldn't have happened."

"Tony, I am fine-"

"You were attacked by a rogue Mossad officer. You nearly died."

"What do you want me to say? 'Yes, Tony, it was your fault'?" she spat back, some of her old fire returning.

"No…"

"Then what is it that you want?"

_Oh, if only I could tell you_, he thought. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I am okay. I am still breathing. I will be completely recovered in a few weeks."

They were silent for a moment, neither one of them wanting to say anything.

Finally, Tony thought he was going to explode if he didn't tell her. "Ziva…"

Ziva looked at him curiously.

'I love you' just didn't seem adequate enough for him to say. Sure, they were considered the three most powerful words in the world, but they just didn't seem right. Nothing did.

Instead, Tony reached forward and took her hand. "I'm glad you're okay," he said, moving forward so he could put a small kiss on her temple before climbing on the bed next to her. "You don't mind if I just nap here for a bit do you?"

Ziva moved over so he had more room. "Not at all," she said, still holding his hand.

She was just on the brink of sleep when he sniggered slightly. "What?"

"This reminds me of _A Walk to Remember._"

Ziva laughed.

* * *

A/N Review!

I kind of wrote the ending before I'd written anything else...that's why it's kind of weird at the start.

Hope you enjoyed it!

And now I'm going to run away from all the people who will remember that I said I would be away for three weeks and therefore wouldn't be updating _B12_.


End file.
